Far from Zion

In Search of a Global Jewish Community

About the Book

A fascinating narrative of community and faith, Charles London’s Far From Zion explores the Jewish Diaspora in some of the most unexpected places—from Burma to Tehran to Cuba and even Bentonville, Arkansas. The award-winning author of the highly acclaimed One Day the Soldiers Came, London tells the stories of the Jews who stayed behind, choosing to remain in the countries of their birth rather than immigrating to the Holy Land of Israel. At once a riveting modern history of a scattered People of the Book and London’s moving story of his own personal odyssey of religious and cultural discovery, Far From Zion is an affecting and unforgettable study of diversity, tenacity, survival, and rebirth.

Book Description

Raised in a nonreligious Jewish family, Charles London knew hisheritage but had no strong desire to experience it personally. Thenin the summer of 2004, while doing relief work in Bosnia, he stumbled upon a remarkable community—where Jews worked alongside Muslims and Christians to rebuild a city ravaged by war. This encounter gave him the idea for a journey that would take him aroundthe world and back to his roots.

Far from Zion is the story of Jews in far-flung, often surprising places. Despite efforts by Israel to bring these scattered people home to Zion, they have chosen to remain in the lands of their birth: a shopkeeper selling Jewish trinkets in Iran, a caretaker keeping watch over an all-but-forgotten synagogue in Rangoon, revelers at a Hanukkah celebration in an Arkansas bowling alley, a Cuban engineering professor, proud of his Jewish heritage and prouder still of his Communist ideals. It is through their stories and many others that London examines his own identity, as he, too, struggles to come to terms with his connection to Zion.

HarperCollins Reader

When you purchase e-books from HarperCollins, you can read it on our HarperCollins Reader App that is available on your iPhone/iPad, Android or Kindle Fire.

We encourage you to use the HC Reader App since it supports our type of e-book files and you may have some trouble with a different reader app.

Instructions

Please make sure you have a HarperCollins Account. If you purchase/have purchased an e-book from HarperCollins, this is your account login and password. Otherwise, please click here to register.

Download the HC Reader App on iPhone/iPad, Android or Kindle Fire and sign in with your HarperCollins account (your username is an e-mail address). Please note that Kindle Fire users must edit their settings (Settings < Device) to allow installation of apps in order to download the HC Reader App. This App is not available in the Amazon App Store.